Play Station Day Nursery, Stoke Lodge

A private garden for babies and outdoor space adjoining the rooms give Play Station Day Nursery, Stoke Lodge a clear emphasis on exploration. Sandpits, construction play and room to climb make the outside space part of the nursery day, rather than simply somewhere to take a break. The purpose-built premises sit on the grounds of Stoke Lodge School in Bristol.

At its 16 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, finding effective safeguarding and warm relationships between children and staff. That gives families a positive inspection position to weigh alongside the practical offer. The current age range runs from two months to five years, with separate provision for babies, toddlers and preschool children.

Flexible attendance allows families to choose starting and finishing times within the opening day. The gardens give children space for exploration alongside that attendance flexibility.

Rooms and Ages

The rooms are organised into 0-2’s, 2-3’s and 3-5’s groups, allowing babies and older children to have different daily experiences. Babies have their own garden; outdoor space adjoining the rooms includes sandpits, forest areas, construction resources and bikes. Children can move between indoor and outdoor play as circumstances allow. This gives movement and exploration a place alongside quieter activities.

Within the 2-3’s group, songs and shared activities support language development. For a toddler beginning to express ideas, this gives conversation a practical setting: joining in a song or taking part with other children, rather than treating language as an isolated exercise.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care. In everyday terms, children learn through play, conversation and practical experiences that develop communication, physical skills and early understanding of the world.

In January 2025, babies explored porridge oats by scooping, stirring and sprinkling, while a sensory room offered a calmer space for discovery. Toddlers used a soft-play structure for climbing, sliding and jumping. These were different kinds of physical experience: small movements and sensory exploration for babies, more energetic movement for toddlers.

Older children investigated frozen objects, choosing implements to release them from ice and discussing melting. The Three Little Pigs became a starting point for acting, designing miniature houses and working through construction problems. The story connected language with making things. Children could contribute an idea, try it out and see whether their construction worked.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified a need to stretch the most-able children further in mathematics, especially through simple calculations and more demanding mathematical concepts. Counting, shape recognition, colour matching and weighing were already part of the learning. The improvement point concerned the next step for children ready for greater challenge.

Outdoor and Community Life

January 2025 experiences extended beyond the nursery's gardens. Staff drew on beach training to support exploration of the coast, including looking for creatures under driftwood. Additional funding helped children take part in swimming lessons and community experiences, including a train trip to Weston-Super-Mare.

Visiting professionals also brought farm animals and alpacas to the nursery. These examples gave children direct encounters with animals and unfamiliar places, providing experiences they could discuss afterwards. They are useful illustrations of the nursery's learning at that date, rather than a fixed outings timetable.

A manager holds lead SENCO and safeguarding responsibilities, with deputy roles also covering these areas. The manager has an NNEB childcare qualification and training in understanding autism. For families seeking additional support, this identifies a clear area of responsibility within the team rather than relying on a broad promise of inclusion.

Key-person work is part of preschool staffing. In January 2025, children starting nursery received help to settle, and staff used words from children's home languages alongside pictures and signing. These practical communication methods gave children more than one way to understand and participate while developing English.

Parents received photographs and online updates in January 2025 and could join stay-and-play sessions. Updates offered a window into children's activities; shared sessions gave parents a different opportunity to take part. Staff also shared guidance about healthy eating and oral health, extending communication beyond accounts of play.

Food is made fresh on site each day, with a catering manager overseeing preparation and nutritional needs; special diets are catered for. Staff encourage children to serve food with adult help and practise feeding themselves, making mealtimes another opportunity to develop independence.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Stoke Lodge School, School Close, Stoke Lodge, Bristol, BS34 6DW. Opening hours are 7.45am to 6.15pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year. Bank holidays and Christmas are closure periods.

Flexible sessions can begin and end at a chosen point within that opening window. This is a practical option for families whose working hours do not fit a fixed morning or afternoon pattern. The attendance choice is the flexible arrangement itself, rather than a set of standard session lengths.

Enquiries can be made through the School Close enquiry page or by telephone on 01454 610 101. The nursery's position close to the A38 may also be useful for families working around the nearby employment sites.

Funding and Paid Extras

Children using the Nursery Education Entitlement Grant are accepted. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which gives families a basis for budgeting alongside their chosen attendance pattern.

The school-site location needs to be kept separate from Reception admissions. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place.

• Mathematical stretch. January 2025 brought an improvement point about challenge for the most-able children. Families with a preschool child already confident with numbers should explore how activities now extend calculation and mathematical thinking.
• Flexible attendance and the total bill. Starts and finishes can be chosen within the nursery's opening day, and the Nursery Education Entitlement Grant is accepted. When discussing a proposed pattern, what would the written quotation include for funded hours, meals and non-food consumables?
• A nursery on a school site. The premises are on the grounds of Stoke Lodge School. This can be an appealing setting, but nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place, so school applications remain a separate family task.

Play Station Day Nursery, Stoke Lodge suits families seeking flexible starting and finishing times, with separate age groups and outdoor play woven into the day. The baby garden is a useful physical feature, while January 2025 examples of coastal exploration, animal encounters and story-led construction show learning extending beyond routine tabletop activities.

The Good inspection position supports a positive assessment, with a specific improvement point around mathematical challenge. Families should weigh that alongside the attendance flexibility and the responsibilities held by the SENCO and safeguarding team. For children ready to explore, talk and make things, there is plenty of concrete substance here.